Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Garlic - in a Very Wet Summer

This year when I harvested the garlic, the papery coverings were not very good. There had been such a lot of rain... Lately I've been worried that the garlic won't "keep" as well as it has in the past, so a set aside a few bulbs to plant in October, and I've preserved the rest in two ways. You can see the problem here. The papery wrapper is all but gone.

So, I washed a lot of it, carefully peeled the cloves and rinsed them thoroughly under running water.

The first ferment is a remedy for colds and influenza. I took my small Fido jar and filled it about 2/3 full with the peeled cloves. Next, I poured in enough raw honey to cover them, and sealed the jar. What I read is that you should "burp" the jar every day until it doesn't burp anymore. I think I will just let it go for a few weeks, as the extra pressure will slowly leak out of a Fido jar. Then, I'll keep it in the cupboard. If a cold or influenza is coming on, we'll eat 4 or more fermented cloves right away, and then as needed.

The second ferment is just to preserve the garlic for cooking. I filled a quart canning jar about 2/3 full with the rinsed cloves. I added 2 Tablespoons of live whey that I got from making kefir cheese. (You can also use the whey from plain yogurt.) and then poured in about 1/2 quart of simple brine, which is a mixture of 2 cups of water and 2 Tablespoons of plain sea salt. This will set on the counter for several days and then I will store it in the refrigerator and just take out what I need for cooking. This garlic keeps indefinitely and it is very convenient to have on hand, all ready to go!

I think my kitchen might have the aroma of an Italian restaurant today. It's very garlicky in here. Fortunately, I love garlic!